Detroit – The Detroit Fire Department responded swiftly to an early morning apartment fire on Michigan Avenue and Cicotte Street on Detroit’s west side.
Firefighters were dispatched to the two-alarm fire at the Galston Apartments at 7:43 a.m. on Monday after receiving a call about a fire that broke out inside a second floor apartment.
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According to Leo Spitzig, senior chief with the Detroit Fire Department, the building was about 95% occupied with roughly 30-40 units. One male resident was transported to a nearby hospital with minor injuries after jumping from a third-floor window, Spitzig said, while another man was hospitalized for smoke inhalation.
A knotted sheet could also be seen hanging out of a second-story window.
Otherwise no injuries were reported and all residents were evacuated from the building.
A third-floor resident, Charita Hamilton, says she was first alerted of the fire when she heard someone shouting “They can’t get out!” When her husband went into the hallway it was already full of smoke.
“It was very scary, it shook me up,“ Hamilton said. ”We have never experienced anything like this before.”
Hamilton said the American Red Cross is en route to provide assistance to displaced residents.
Though firefighters were able to contain the fire to one apartment, Spitzig said there is significant smoke damage throughout the second floor and possible water damage up to the third floor, potentially leaving residents displaced for an extended amount of time.
The cause of the fire and whether the building had smoke detectors remains under investigation.